Pentagon brushes off reported Iranian missile tests

Iran officials said the military test-fired at least four anti-ship missiles into waters near the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday and also boasted of developing a new hunter-killer drone in an effort to show off the regime’s ability to retaliate if attacked.

The supposed missile launches and the drone announcement came as the U.S. and allied navies carried out anti-mine exercises in the Persian Gulf. Defense Department officials confirmed the launches but played down their significance.

“I don’t think this is ringing any alarm bells here but we take it seriously,” said George Little, the chief Pentagon spokesman.
The show of strength also came a day ahead of an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told Western reporters on Monday that Iran was “fully ready” to defend itself against attacks by Israel and the U.S. against its hardened nuclear sites.

In Tehran, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said the new Shahed-129 (Witness-129) drone had a range of about 1,250 miles, putting Israel within reach, and could carry out reconnaissance missions or attack with “bombs and missiles,” Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

Hajizadeh said the new missile was developed solely by Iranian engineers. In the past, Iran has engaged in reverse engineering from the drones of other nations to produce to its own models.

The U.S. has been concerned that Iran would develop a long-range drone based on the technology from the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel drone that reportedly went down in Iran last December while flying a surveillance mission out of Afghanistan.

In a separate announcement, Iran said that four anti-ship missiles were fired at a practice target floating in the Persian Gulf and sank the target in less than a minute. Pentagon officials said that U.S. radars picked up on the launchings, but they could not confirm that a target had been sunk.

Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi, the Iranian navy commander, did not identify the type of missiles but said they were fired by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Iran’s Press TV.

Fadavi also said that Iran was closely monitoring the U.S. and allied anti-mine exercises and keeping a “moment-by-moment watch on every move of the Americans.”

“Over the past years, we have not neglected to enhance our naval capabilities, particularly in the field of mines, and these capabilities are unimaginable to the Americans,” Fadavi said.

“I think there’s an elaborate game of chicken and display being played out there” in the Persian Gulf by Iran and the U.S, said Gideon Rose, a National Security Council official in the administration of former President Bill Clinton.

“I don’t see this escalating by itself” into a conflict, “but I could be wrong,” said Rose, now a Mideast specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Overall when and yes its when war comes to Iran be better to have the navy off the Indian Ocean than the small poorly maneuverable Gulf. While in the end US air power will end Iran’s anti ship missile threat it take time to bomb so many missile sites. how ever its need Iran is the new Nazi regime in the world.

Yes, it’s just that simple to reverse engineer an aircraft… Get real. It requires a lot of industrial know-how, even the Chinese cannot make a simple copy of a Russian jet engine even though they’ve tried.

Put another way, it took Iran nearly 50 years to make a copy of the F-5 Tiger II.

It’s not a correct picture, Iran used other means to cause or sustain war in other countries .…Ezbola in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Israel …etc … they don’t have the US capabilities, but if they had the Nazis would be child-play compared what Iran wanted to do (obliterate all infidels …not only Jewish).

I ran in itself as a country is an intial threat in that they honestly believe they can hold thier own against us. In reality, if we did it right (without the bleeding heart stuff) conducted a pre emptive strike with SSGN’s and 688 I class boats followed by strike fighters then B52’s loaded with daisy cutters and napalm we could desimate them within a couple days and never have to put a troop on the ground (knock out all infrastructure to include oil fields, water teatment, power plants, hospitals, port facilities, mosques, shopping districts, agriculture and military). the true issue is all the other radical countries rising up along with the millions living in western countries. Obama signed HR 1388 as an executive order recently when he couldnt get congress to pass it and has ordered 20 mil to fund relocating thousands of palistinian familes from lebanon to the US with homes — cars — and business loans. Shows were the cuts to the military are going — there is no savings as claimed (20 mil here, 300 mil to state dept for more security, 8 bil to arab spring aid, all just redistributed from the military under the table.)

Navies are meant to go in harm’s way. Doesn’t mean suicide missions, but you’d better believe the Navy is prepared to fight its way through the SOH and into the Gulf when the balloon goes up to kill the IRGCN and IRIN and kill or hold at risk Iranian coastal and inland targets.

…and mosques and shopping districts? Umm…I wouldn’t obey those orders. Fortunately, JAG would never permit those targets, and no competent commander would even think of it. You need a LOAC brief, Boomer.

Did you see the aircraft they fielded? It’s a direct knock off of the predator; which probably took maybe a year to perfect. But what they got from our gift to them of the downed UAV was everything that made it more then a remote controlled airplane. Their scientist are pretty damn good, they’ve had enough time to reverse engineer that thing. It’s engineering, not exotic chemistry or metallurgy.

keep cool pp_muscimol ; they don’t want to obliterate all infidels. They are not Nazi.
Don’t you know there are many Jews living in Iran ? They are living in peace and harmony with Iranians, as they did trough 3000 years.

That is the problem and why we keep winding up in the kind of messes we keep getting into. When you go to war with a country you go to war with the whole dang country period, you deplete thier ability to recruit more troops and you turn the people against their govt and assist you from within to make it stop, That is how you win a war with minnimum risk to our troops. To heck with the geniva convention when in reality we are the only ones who ever abide by it and none of our enemies are bound by it.

Yup — I’m tired of the win thier hearts and minds BS while draining the US economy. If you take away everything need to sustain thier ability to make war it wont last as long. They will have to convince all the other radicals not to retaliate in order to get us to stop or face the same decimation.

As having served myself in the United States Navy, you are correct in that they can hit us. Whether by their anti-ship missiles or possibly even the Kilo class diesel subs which are the quietest subs in the world due to battery power, they can hit us.

But make NO mistake. Should they do so, Iran will cease to exist as it is today. It’s government WILL be toppled, infrastructure totaled and regime changed. And of course, the Iranian military will cease to exist at all in any form.

Yes exactly, bombing their hospitals, homes, markets and places of worship are precisely the way to get the populace to rise up and overthrow their government.

In no way could those tactics ever get the population rally around their government and dedicate their entire country to endless war against the foreign attacker who destroyed their schools, markets, hospitals, homes and places of worship.

If you have any doubt about the resolve and capabilities of the Islamists working in the desert and living a medieval lifestryle just check out the new Clock Tower at Mecca. That thing is over twice as high as our tallest building and is also massive bulk as well as height. The clock can be seen from something like 10 miles and I shuddeer to think what it is like nearby when the llooudspekers in that thing call the faithful — I wonder if earplugs are issued to the pilgtims that are close by?

You might want to check your facts a little, mate. You’re quite right when you say there is a Jewish community in Iran. However, the devil — as always — is in the detail: That community has shrunk to ca. 20000 to 25000 people. Funny, if you think that this particular community was once — about 50 years ago — around 300000 strong…
Well, perhaps they all left because of too much peace and harmony…

“I don’t think this is ringing any alarm bells here but we take it seriously,” said George Little, the chief Pentagon spokesman.“________________________I agree, no need to get upset at something that we knew would happen. When you are the first to build something, it should not be a surprise when it’s copied, same thing with the first atomic bomb. It’s not like we have a patent on the thing, and even if we did, that still wouldn’t protect your product from be copied by other countries.…..“If you build it, they will want it”, thats a true saying.…contrary to popular belief.

I don’t like Iran but l think it would be ok to limit our strike package to petrochemical targets to deny the regime money, sink the navy, and savage Quds force resources along with the revolutionary guard. That alone would make it nigh on impossible for them to maintain control in their own country let alone fund the likes of Hezbollah and Hamas.

in the face of starvation and decease they will eventualy give in just as many combat troops and major populations have numerous times. They live in a wasteland and dont have the ability to live off the land the way we (some of us) could in the western world. remember also that these people place lil to no value on human life and bombing these facilities would not have the same impact on them as it would us — these are the same people who used kids and hospitals/churches as shields numerous times, and hid in those places during bombing raids because they knew we wouldnt attack them. Time for us to give them a big supprise if we do get involved.

Even in the total war environment of WWII, US forces never targeted hospitals, places of worship, and civilian shopping districts. This has never been a part of the American Way of War, and God and patriots willing, never will be.

Boomer. I have never heard an irrational proposal of this nature. You must have never been in the service or maybe never heard of rules of engagement, LOAC, geneva convention. You cannot go around killing innocient citizens. The united Stated are not Animals. We still have compation for others regardless of where they come from. I came here about 30 years ago. I have served 21 year in the Air Force and will do it again. You cannot go around distroying people, historic assets and place of Worship because of some dectetorship/irrational airheat. We’re a civilized nation and I will like my kids to have a decent society to grow up in. Yes I have been deployed 3 times. Even thought I was in the background. I did provided all the service that the forward forces needed to operate to survice. You also do not know anything about deplomacy. Get with it.

We — our allies — and the enemy carpet bombed and artillery shelled the heck outta every thing and anything the enemy used or could use, cities were turned into rubble, it was called collateral damage aphrase many seem to be do dang afraid to use any more — it’s a big no no these days to even consider it, total BS.

“BOOMER · 20 hours ago
That is the problem and why we keep winding up in the kind of messes we keep getting into.“_________________________________________________________________________The reason we keep winding up in this kind of mess, is BECAUSE WE KEEP GETTING INTO IT. We stop getting “into it”, we stop winding “up in it”.….make sense to me. But every time we turn around somebody want to “bomb bomb bomb Iran, I call that “getting into mess” don’t you???

Actualy I spent 24 yrs active duty and retired because I was tired of these rules getting my guys injured or killed. War is the response of failed politics leading to an act of aggression — once it is decided to send in the military the politicians that failed to prevent the war should not be allowed to run it from their desks and put our guys in danger needlessly with stupid rules. These people and others have no difficulty killing our civilians or blowing up schools or churches so why should I care more for them than my own.

Agree and disagree — I dont think we need to be politicly entangled with everyone in the world playing cop or picking up the load for those who choose not to finance their own military. but what I do believe in is once they involve the military is for them to stand out of the way and let us do our job (kill the enemy and their ability to wage future wars for as long as possible) and come home. Not to worry about collateral damage and issuing band aids — mre’s and money while appoligizing for thier inconvenience during our incursion upon them.

I don’t believe daisy cutters can be loaded on a B-52, and the rest of your post is just nonsense. I just love the way you propose to destroy a country and kill thousands of people like it is a game of risk. You are sick in the head.

The Pentagon need to get their head out of their butt and recognize this as a major threat to our national security. They have too many freaking liberals in the pentagon. We need to be a lot more proactive with this kind activity. Iran does not follw by any rules and because for that F**king Obama, we are a large target for more terrorist activity right here in the US. Obama is a f**king traitor and should be convicted of treason. He’s a liar a cheat and needs to get out of the US forever. I can not say my true feelings, so this is as much as I will say in this.

I am not afraid to speak my mind, because that is my right as it is everyone else’s right as written in our Constitution.

Yes and if “these people” ever attacked targets here in America like the ones that you have on your list, you would be the first to cry about how the terrorists were killing innocent civilians. You arm chair generals crack me up.

They already have (911 ring any bells — American embasies — American operated clinics in foreign countries). You would hear me crying — I think it needs to go ahead and happen to wake up a lot of folks “There are no rules in war and your only allies are those holding a rifle next to you”..

They actually dont live in a waste land and parts of Iran are quite fertile. It is the morons running the nation that are ruining it not the people in general. Long before the revolution there Iran was actually quite friendly with Israel and sold them their gasoline. The population there was very modern in its thinking and then the jihadists moved in and ruined the place. Maybe you didn’t watch the street protests a couple years ago but the population of that nation is fed up with the leadership but like the Nazis before them they have put a security apparatus in place that is quite adept at keeping the people in check, but it needs money to do so. Destroy the oil industry and you sever the cash. Sever the cash and you end the revolution.

When combatants use mosques as hide sites, that makes them legitimate targets. That’s a completely different strategy and RoE set than an indiscriminate bombing campaign that targets civilian populations and religious and cultural centers. Genocide is not a part of the American way of war. Never has been–not even in the good old days.

Because as an American soldier, you work for the American people, and they are not willing that you should commit grievous sins that shock the conscience of civilized people in their name or in the name of your more conscientious comrades.

You are also the heir to a long legacy of American fighiting men and women who lived, fought, and died for these principles, and you should not by your own misconduct or ill will dishonor their sacrifices.